Real Words Without Definition
This one is a judgement call.
A foreign word used in English without ever being translated.
adelphoi is Greek for brothers. aburabozu is a Japanese fish. achtelthaler is a German coin worth an eighth of a thaler. afghanets is a Russian word for a dusty Central Asian wind.
They turn up in English books, so somebody wrote them down. They never became English words, so no dictionary lists them.
2,016 words · sorted A to Z · each with a line on why it is here
Matches the word itself, not the note beside it. Case does not matter.
| Word, sorted Z to A | Language and meaning |
|---|---|
| kisang | Korean, a female entertainer (kisaeng) |
| kishen | Manx, a dry measure of about a peck |
| kitabi | Arabic, "of the Book", a scriptuary |
| kitman | Arabic, concealment of one's belief |
| kitmudgar | Urdu khitmutgar, a table servant |
| kittar | Arabic, a thorny acacia |
| kittool | Sinhalese, fiber of the kitul palm |
| kizil | Turkish, "red" |
| klaftern | German, plural of Klafter, a fathom |
| kliphaas | Afrikaans, the rock hare |
| kloesse | German Klösse, dumplings |
| klosh | Chinook Jargon, good |
| knappan | Welsh cnapan, a traditional ball game |
| knaydlach | Yiddish kneydlach, matzo balls |
| knoppie | Afrikaans, a little knob |
| kodogu | Japanese, the fittings of a sword |
| kodro | Hindi, kodo millet |
| kogai | Japanese, a hairpin carried in a sword scabbard |
| kojiri | Japanese, the metal cap of a scabbard |
| kokil | Hindi, the koel or Indian cuckoo |
| kokio | Hawaiian, a native hibiscus |
| koklas | Hindi, a Himalayan pheasant |
| kokoromiko | Maori, the koromiko shrub |
| kokumingun | Japanese, the national militia |
| koltunna | Swedish, a charcoal barrel measure |
| koltunnor | Swedish plural of koltunna |
| komarch | Greek, a village headman |
| komondoroc | Hungarian, plural of komondor sheepdog |
| komondorock | Hungarian komondorok, sheepdogs |
| koopbrief | Dutch, a deed of sale |
| koorka | Malayalam, the Chinese-potato tuber |
| kopfring | German, a ring fitted to a bomb nose |
| korakan | Sinhalese, finger millet |
| koreci | Slavic, plural of korec, a dry measure |
| kornskeppa | Swedish, a grain bushel measure |
| kornskeppur | plural of kornskeppa, grain measures |
| korntunna | Swedish, a grain barrel measure |
| korntunnur | plural of korntunna, grain barrels |
| korova | Russian, a cow |
| kottaboi | Greek, plural of kottabos |
| kozuka | Japanese, the small knife in a scabbard |
| krepis | Greek, the stepped base of a temple |
| kthibh | Hebrew, the written text (kethib), vs qere |
| kubuklion | Greek, canopy over the Holy Sepulchre |
| kuei | Chinese, a spirit or demon; a ritual vessel |
| kulimit | Estonian külimit, a dry measure of grain |
| kulmet | Baltic dry measure of grain |
| kumbaloi | Greek komboloi, worry beads |
| kumminost | Norwegian kuminost, cumin-seed cheese |
| kuphar | Arabic, round coracle of the Tigris |
| kurikata | Japanese, cord-knob on a sword scabbard |
| kusha | Sanskrit, the sacred kusa grass |
| kwaiken | Japanese kaiken, a woman's short dagger |
| kwarterka | Polish kwaterka, a small liquid measure |
| kymation | Greek, the cyma or ogee moulding |
| kyrios | Greek, lord, master |
| lacatan | Tagalog, a Philippine banana variety |
| lampadephoria | Greek, the torch-bearing race |
| landsmanleit | Yiddish, fellow townsmen, landsleit |
| landsmanshaften | Yiddish, hometown mutual-aid societies |
| lanete | Tagalog, a Philippine tree, Wrightia |
| lantcha | Malay, a Chinese coasting lighter or junk |
| latticinii | Italian, white glass threads in filigree glass |
| lautenclavicymbal | German Lautenklavizimbel, a lute-harpsichord |
| lavanga | Sanskrit, the clove tree |
| lebrancho | Spanish, the young striped mullet |
| lecama | African vernacular name for the hartebeest |
| lecythoi | Greek, plural of lekythos, oil flasks |
| leewan | Arabic liwan, raised floor or recessed hall |
| lekanai | Greek, plural of lekane, shallow basins |
| lelwel | African name of the lelwel hartebeest |
| lenticulare | New Latin, os lenticulare, the lenticular bone |
| lesche | Greek, a public lounging hall |
| lettrin | French lettrine, an ornamental initial letter |
| levantera | Italian/Spanish, easterly Mediterranean wind |
| leysing | Old Norse, a freedman (leysingi) |
| lhiamba | Portuguese/Angolan, Indian hemp, cannabis |
| licury | Portuguese/Tupi, a Brazilian palm (licuri) |
| lithospermon | Greek, gromwell, "stone-seed" |
| lochagus | Greek, captain of a lochos |
| lochus | Greek lochos, a company of soldiers |
| locutorium | Latin, monastery parlour or speaking-room |
| logeion | Greek, speaking-place of the ancient stage |
| lohar | Hindi, blacksmith |
| lokacara | Sanskrit lokacara, worldly usage |
| lokindra | Sanskrit, lord of the world (loka + indra) |
| longee | Hindi lungi, a cotton loincloth |
| lootiewallah | Anglo-Indian, a plunderer, looty-wallah |
| lootsman | Dutch loodsman, a pilot |
| lungy | Hindi lungi, a cotton loincloth |
| lupulinum | New Latin, pharmacy name for lupulin |
| lyfkie | Dutch lijfje, a bodice |
| macabi | Spanish, the bonefish Albula vulpes |
| macquereau | French, mackerel; also a procurer |
| macuca | Spanish, the earthnut or pignut |
| madidans | Latin, moistening, as in eczema madidans |
| mafurra | African, the mafura tree and its oil |
| maharawal | Hindi, a Rajput princely title |
| maharawat | Hindi, a Rajput princely title |
| maharmah | Turkish/Arabic, an embroidered veil or towel |
The other lists filed alongside this one.
